I am going to be purchasing monitor calibration hardware software for the first time and would like any thoughts/advice on what to purchase. After looking around a bit I'm considering:

X-Rite ColorMunki Display

X-Rite i1Display Pro

Datacolor Spyder4Pro

Datacolor Spyder4Elite

In particular I've not found found much on the web that compares X-Rite and Datacolor hardware and software. It seems like everything I find focuses on one vendor or the other. I'd appreciate any and all thoughts.

As my experience with Datacolor products (Spyder2 Elite or whatever it was called was a disaster for print profiling) , I tend to recommend not using their products.For screen only the consensus seems to be that the X-Rite i1Display Pro seems to be the device of choice.

I use the ColorMunki Display and I've been very pleased with it. I've had a few others before (various Spyders and Eye One Display 2), and this seems the best I've used for monitor calibration (I don't calibrate my printer - I use profiles supplied by printer or paper makers).

If your budget permits, go directly to the i1Display Pro. The ColorMunki hardware is identical but you end up with crippled software that also slows down measurements which seems silly to me. You can't upgrade the software so you might as well get the best package from the get-go.

I travel around the country calibrating hundreds of displays every year and have all of these, and the i1DisplayPro is my favorite of them all. The size of the device, speed of calibration, smoothness of gradations, extreme shadow detail, and consistency across a variety of display types are all big in my mind.

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. The articles that Simon posted were especially helpful.

It looks like I'll be going for the i1Display Pro, I may have to wait a bit to fit it in the budget, but for the price difference I can't see going for a lesser model if I'm going to eventually want to upgrade.

A quick follow-on to the advice to go with the X-Rite i1 Display Pro. I was considering upgrading to this and currently run Color Eyes Display Pro v1.6 software on a Mac with OS X Mountain Lion. Would it be best to stick with the Color Eyes software for monitor calibration or to use the software that comes with the X-Rite?

A quick follow-on to the advice to go with the X-Rite i1 Display Pro. I was considering upgrading to this and currently run Color Eyes Display Pro v1.6 software on a Mac with OS X Mountain Lion. Would it be best to stick with the Color Eyes software for monitor calibration or to use the software that comes with the X-Rite?

the former X-Rite "i1 Match" software was mediocre at best. I am not quite sure but AFAIK Color Eyes is basically a basICColor Display clone ... if so, it's a probably much more advanced and sophisticated software. Then again - since you have both just try them and compare ...

the former X-Rite "i1 Match" software was mediocre at best. I am not quite sure but AFAIK Color Eyes is basically a basICColor Display clone ... if so, it's a probably much more advanced and sophisticated software. Then again - since you have both just try them and compare ...

The present software - i1Profiler - is not that bad, builds nice profiles and also has several interesting features.

If your budget permits, go directly to the i1Display Pro. The ColorMunki hardware is identical but you end up with crippled software that also slows down measurements which seems silly to me. You can't upgrade the software so you might as well get the best package from the get-go.

Does your recommendation/assessment apply to users of NEC monitors and Spectraview software?

I apologize if I am off topic a bit, but after reading this entire thread I was just wondering if I could ask how an X-Rite i1Procompares with the i1Display Pro for monitor calibration. (hopefully someone else will find this info useful as well)I use ColorNavigator 6 for my Eizo and i1Profiler to profile my printer, scanner and my Dell U2410.Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks.

If your budget permits, go directly to the i1Display Pro. The ColorMunki hardware is identical but you end up with crippled software that also slows down measurements which seems silly to me. You can't upgrade the software so you might as well get the best package from the get-go.

I chose an alternative solution. Using the ColorMunki hardware one can get around the "crippled software" problem by substituting Argyll program driven with dispcalGUI. Bit more of a learning curve but the results are very good.

sorry to go a little off topic but i have been really confused for a while now and would really be grateful if someone could help me out and suggest which calibration hardware/software would suite me the best.

i do coloring work for comic books and i have 3 dell U2410 and one U2713 and im facing great color consistence problems across the monitors and as an end result face a problem while my work is getting printed.

i was thinking of investing in either: spyder4pro (as it's economical) but if there is a vast difference in calibration quality then i would opt for Syder4elite or X-Rite i1Display Pro.

which calibration device would best suite dell monitors and my requirements?

No wonder you've been confused. Those monitors are wide gamut and an absolute requirement is that they are calibrated and profiled, and used only with fully color managed software. Everything else will be garishly oversaturated.

I'd recommend the i1 Display Pro without question. The sensor is superb, and in addition works with virtually every other calibration solution on the market, including the new Dell calibrator (only for the newer Dells), NEC Spectraview and Eizo ColorNavigator. Lots of options for any future system upgrades.

The current Spyders are also good and much better than their strangely bad reputation. But not as flexible.